On January 29, 2016, Chase Allen verbally committed to come play for new head coach Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones. He enrolled that June, and began camp where he had earned a small role in Iowa State’s offense. On July 21st, Allen was hit by a car. His left knee broke the headlight, and he flipped over the windshield and the trunk of the car. 103 stitches later, he was seemingly going to be alright. He had overcome all of that by game week against UNI in 2016.
That Monday, he woke up with a sore throat and a swollen face, just as a few teammates had the mumps recently.